Bristol Schools Philharmonia, Gurt Lush Choir

Music by Mark Lawrence
Words by Claire Williamson
Conductor: Ian Holmes

When Constance praises Edward’s success at the May Day football match in 1914, love blossoms. Little do they know what lies in store – for themselves and for the world. This moving and dramatic cantata, featuring adult and boys’ choirs and professional soloists with a large orchestra, has been specially commissioned by Bristol Plays Music to mark the first months of the First World War, exactly a century ago.

Bristol Schools’ Philharmonia are joined by UWE instrumentalists, while Gurt Lush Choir and UWE singers form the core of a massed choir.

Also featuring at this concert is “The Planets Suite” which Gustav Holst began writing in 1914, the year of the outbreak of the First World War. From its first movement, ‘Mars, the bringer of War’ to its other-worldly finale, ‘Neptune, the mystic’, which dissolves away into infinity with a wordless chorus, Holst’s ground-breaking work for large orchestra is a landmark of twentieth century orchestral music and forms a fitting accompaniment to this centenary concert.

Come along for this seasonal celebration and sing along to famous wartime songs such as ‘Keep the Home Fires Burning’, ‘There’s a long, long trail a-winding’, as well as ‘Silent Night/Stille Nacht’ which will be similar to the chorales and spirituals in Tippet’s A Child of Our Time.